Route N13 skirmish

The Route N13 skirmish (6 June 1944) occurred when a three-man squad of US 506th Infantry Regiment paratroopers broke through German lines to report to the Allied headquarters on Omaha Beach. The three paratroopers left the village of Saint-Mere-Eglise after they held off two fallschirmjaeger platoons there, and they were instructed to bring back orders for the 506th after making contact with HQ. They used a stolen French car to drive down the country roads, and they were confronted by German resistance, facing several roadblocks. Private Anthony A. Elder and Private Martin engaged in drive-by shootings against the Germans with Thompson submachine guns, and Sergeant Gregory Moody drove the car. They eventually crashed into a German kubelwagon in a small village after fleeing from two German tanks, and Moody and Martin were forced to hold off several German troops as Martin hotwired a German kubelwagon for the escape. The Americans proceeded to escape in the kubelwagon, firing on the German troops as they made off. They ultimately made it to headquarters, where they were tasked with carrying out the Brecourt Manor Assault.